On October 25, in Beijing, Wang Changshun, the Chairman of the China Air Transport Association (CATA), revealed some impressive statistics regarding China’s drone industry. As of the end of September, there are 2.049 million registered drones in China, with over 17,000 certified drone operating companies.
During the opening of the second CATA Aviation Conference in Beijing, Wang noted a significant rebound in China’s air transport industry this year. He highlighted that domestic passenger traffic for the first three quarters has reached 114.4% of the levels seen in the same period of 2019, while international passenger transport has recovered to 92.8%. Looking ahead to 2024, he anticipates that passenger and cargo transport volumes could surpass 720 million and 8.5 million tons, respectively, setting new historical records.
Wang also mentioned that the manufacturing gaps in China’s aviation sector are being addressed more rapidly. The domestic civil aircraft industry has entered a new phase of scaled, series, and industrial development. Notably, the accelerated production of new aircraft types such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) will aid in integrating aviation manufacturing with drone development, facilitating a faster convergence of aviation and emerging technologies. He believes that this could lead to a continuous reduction in the total lifecycle costs of aircraft for airlines.
Moreover, the digital and green transformation of China’s aviation industry is progressing swiftly, with a steady enhancement in energy-saving and carbon-reduction capabilities. Wang shared that in 2023, the fuel consumption per ton-kilometer for Chinese civil aviation has decreased by 14.3% compared to 2005, and carbon dioxide emissions per passenger at airports have dropped by 60.5% from the baseline average of 2013 to 2015.
